Skilled trades are not sexy

Picture a construction worker. Most people would imagine a Caucasian man in his 30s wearing jeans, an orange safety vest, and a hard hat. In fact, if you search “construction worker” on Google images, you will see the same image I just described. There are hardly any images of women on construction sites, but there are images of women in safety vests or hard hats posing against a white background. We can be more specific and search “female construction worker” and we will find countless stock photos of what are supposed to be female construction workers. We also can’t forget about those sexualized images of nearly naked women posing with construction tape. Where does that leave women wanting to enter the skilled trades? What does it say about our society when popular images of male construction workers include men actually working on job sites, while women are simply posing?

Now that I think about it, I have seen more Halloween costumes of women in the skilled trades than actual women working in these fields. In the past, I wouldn’t have questioned this. Now, I am deeply offended when I see a male construction worker and a sexy female construction worker. I wouldn’t have paid much attention to the skills shortage or the fact that women are gearing away from these jobs. I accepted the skilled trades as a male-dominated field. To this day, I don’t see myself working as a plumber or a welder and I wish I could give you a definitive reason as to why this is the case. Maybe it’s because I didn’t know what apprenticeships were in high school, because I blatantly gave in to stereotypes, because I was afraid to challenge societal norms, because I believed high grades meant you had to go to University, or because I’m almost done my University degree and I fear completely changing my career goals. That is why I’m asking you these questions. I’m asking you to challenge the current views you hold about the skilled trades, specifically about women in the trades. I’m asking you before you decide it’s too late.

I recently read an article about a young woman named Mikhaila Currie. She graduated from St. Joseph High School in Alberta and is now working as a first-year apprentice welder. The reason I’m telling you about Mikhaila is because she serves as an example and role model for other young women who are hesitant to start apprenticeship training. She took welding in high school and claims, “The program in high school is really important. Even if you don’t want to do it as a career, just try it out. It’s awesome and really fun.” Mikhaila’s career goals revolve around her skill of welding. Should this come as a surprise to us? I can almost feel the stigma poking at the back of my mind and I’m immediately ready to judge Mikhaila. I have to make a conscious effort to stop myself from thinking the things my adolescent self would have thought. Mikhaila probably had low grades in high school. She must not have been ambitious enough for University. She looks so manly dressed as a welder. Actually, Mikhaila probably had higher grades in science and math than you or I did. She is more ambitious for pursuing a career in welding that I ever will be. And she appears to be equipped with the proper safety equipment to do her job.

I’ll be perfectly honest with you, there are still times I have to remind myself that there is nothing unusual about a woman working in the trades. The trades are not a male job. They’re are not a sexy job. A job is paid labour, and if a man or a woman want to pursue a career in the skilled trades, they deserve nothing short of our full support. The reality is that working in the skilled trades won’t make you less feminine or less educated. Working in the skilled trades is filled with many promising opportunities, so ask yourself, why are we still failing to attract women to these fields of work?

Marina Kozomara